Lee Young-pyo : inter galactic (continental?) journeyman and tactical visionary - Chapter 3 - Napoli

[karanhsingh]

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new FM22 adventure. A quick background about the save, I wanted to do something different and return to probably my favorite style of playing the game which is journeyman across different leagues and countries. 

I also of course like playing "as" former players especially those I was a fan of during their playing days. And this time I wanted to try something different, ideally starting off in Asia. 

So, say hello to Lee Young-pyo

He was a very successful left wing back in the 2000s turning out for clubs like PSV, Spurs & Dortmund amongst others. He's also one of the earliest proponents of the "inverted wing back" being right footed but playing mainly from the left. He racked up over a 100 caps for South Korea and after retirement has been dabbling a little bit with acting in TV shows & movies.

However in this alternate universe, he has of course decided to get into football management with a view of bringing his personal vision of what innovative attacking football looks like to the clubs he will manage. 

It is likely that the first role will be in his homeland South Korea.

Lee starts off with no coaching badges but a previous reputation as a continentally known international footballer.

____________________________________________________

The leagues loaded as playable are

- England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium in Europe

- China & South Korea in Asia

- Brazil in South America

That's as many as my computer can handle 

We should hopefully get a job at a smaller/ struggling club in South Korea and then build our way up. I am ideally looking to avoid nations I've played in this edition of FM so primarily England & France.

I will only be looking to take over "challenger" clubs like the ones Lee played for in his career, so none of the big or successful clubs. 

Tactically since I have only played a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 on FM22 this time going 3 at the back with marauding wing backs and finally use the new WCB role.

Apart from that no clear "objectives" to this save, just to have fun, manage a bunch of clubs and hopefully win a few things!

Edited July 5, 2022 by karanhsingh
Changing title

[karanhsingh]

On the 24th of December 2022, Lee Young-pyo received an early Christmas present as he was approached by Korean top flight club Incheon to take over the managerial reigns.

Incheon had just about avoided relegation only on goal difference on the final day of the season, thanks to which their old manager was shown the door.

And so, Lee Young-pyo had the first managerial job of his fledgling career:

[karanhsingh]

About the South Korean league

So this is my first time playing in this part of the world, and it is definitely very different.

The league runs from March to November, so there is a very long break between seasons. There are a total of 12 clubs only in the top division. Each club plays each other thrice for a total of 33 games after which the league splits into two groups of 6 each. There are a further 5 final games for a total of 38. 

If two teams are tied on points, goals scored and not goal difference is the deciding factor. 

Registration rules are usually tight in Asia and this is no exception - you are allowed to register only 4 foreign players of which 1 must be Asian from another country.

Jeonbuk (owned by Hyundai) has been the most successful team recently, with the other strong sides being Ulsan (also owned by Hyundai, not sure how that works) and of course FC Seoul. The club where Lee Young-pyo started his career.

I reckon that's about it, Incheon has never won the title before so let's see if we can change that!

[karanhsingh]

To give you an idea, these are some of the key players in the Incheon squad:

Guy is definitely our best defender - there are a fair few Australians around in the league due to the registration rules.

Probably are only somewhat competent midfielder.

Best player and star striker.

The play-maker, although he seems to now be on the decline.

EDIT - the good news is that both Mugosa & Aguilar are just completing their 5 years in the country which means they will be eligible for dual citizenship before the new season begins.

Edited June 13, 2022 by karanhsingh

[karanhsingh]

And the new signings...

Lee Ju-Yong was actually on loan with Incheon last season and with his contract expiring I snapped him up as he seems perfect for the LWB role.

Extremely excited about this kid! He looks like someone who may just have a big future.

We needed a destroyer in midfield and hopefully found our guy with Brazilian / Japanese Gabriel Kazu.

And saving the best for the last - we had to give him a big contract with a whopping 50% sell-on clause but we have our own Jota now  

[karanhsingh]

And now the fun part, the tactic:

Here you go then, this is what I have come up with. It's a bit similar to what Tuchel played with Chelsea before he signed Lukaku I feel. 

The idea is to have a lethal front 3, along with a very solid defense when all the players get back. We also break forward in numbers and support for possession can come from the WCBs too.

The LWB role rotates between an IWB and a CWB. The AM in the front 3 sometimes becomes an AP and acts more as a funnel. The right sided wing back is a little bit more defensive as he has a VOL on his side.

Would love thoughts & feedback!

[karanhsingh]

And a final update for now - in typical style I have run through almost the first season before opening the thread so here are the fixtures until the half-way point:

Safe to say it's been going quite well. The tactic seems to be working as desired, just with a couple of off days.

The league table at the time of the 3 week summer break looks like this:

Fun fact about the league leaders Gimcheon who you may have not heard about, I most certainly had not. 

They are the official team of the Army. You cannot manage them in FM, and they don't own any players.

Every season there are South Korean players randomly selected from all the other clubs and sent to Gimcheon on a 2 year loan which acts as their national service to the army. So essentially they can complete service and play football at the same time. After that the player returns to his parent club. 

Super interesting, and I have never seen this anywhere else!

This season, they clearly managed to get some good players from the other clubs as evidenced by their league performance. Them winning the league would indeed be quite a story!

[xray1324]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

And now the fun part, the tactic:

Here you go then, this is what I have come up with. It's a bit similar to what Tuchel played with Chelsea before he signed Lukaku I feel. 

The idea is to have a lethal front 3, along with a very solid defense when all the players get back. We also break forward in numbers and support for possession can come from the WCBs too.

The LWB role rotates between an IWB and a CWB. The AM in the front 3 sometimes becomes an AP and acts more as a funnel. The right sided wing back is a little bit more defensive as he has a VOL on his side.

Would love thoughts & feedback!

your tactic looks like it's been working for you, but out of curiosity, how many goals have you conceded so far?

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, xray1324 said:

your tactic looks like it's been working for you, but out of curiosity, how many goals have you conceded so far?

Not a lot! There is a number of 1-0 and 2-0 wins. It seems very solid. 

[Cheez3y]

8 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

About the South Korean league

So this is my first time playing in this part of the world, and it is definitely very different.

The league runs from March to November, so there is a very long break between seasons. There are a total of 12 clubs only in the top division. Each club plays each other thrice for a total of 33 games after which the league splits into two groups of 6 each. There are a further 5 final games for a total of 38. 

If two teams are tied on points, goals scored and not goal difference is the deciding factor. 

Registration rules are usually tight in Asia and this is no exception - you are allowed to register only 4 foreign players of which 1 must be Asian from another country.

Jeonbuk (owned by Hyundai) has been the most successful team recently, with the other strong sides being Ulsan (also owned by Hyundai, not sure how that works) and of course FC Seoul. The club where Lee Young-pyo started his career.

I reckon that's about it, Incheon has never won the title before so let's see if we can change that!

Aaaaand....

At some point it can happen that couple of your players are gettin stolen by the military service. 

 

Good Luck.

I really love save based in Asia, probable even more then Africa now.

[karanhsingh]

20 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Aaaaand....

At some point it can happen that couple of your players are gettin stolen by the military service. 

Good Luck.

I really love save based in Asia, probable even more then Africa now.

Oh yes definitely that will happen! 

And thanks I've really grown to exploring new regions in FM and learning about them. 

[karanhsingh]

So we made just the one signing in the summer transfer window, but it was a major one. We managed to get this guy on a free, when his contract with Lazio expired.

What a coup for a Korean club! And he seems tailor made for the formation too in the AMC role.

He's got a 1.8m release clause so not too sure how long we will be able to hold onto him...

[karanhsingh]

Fixtures from the 2nd half of the season:

We have the odd bad game of course, but overall this tactic seems very solid. Particularly happy about the number of clean sheets. Anderson of course has been quality since coming in. 

The above set of results means...

[karanhsingh]

That's the first ever silver-ware for Incheon, with the league & cup double, in Lee's first full season as a manager. Safe to say, he's off to a good start!

Strangely, the manager reputation did not change at all despite the titles. I am fairly sure I recall in previous FMs winning trophies would immediately boost your rep. Maybe I am wrong. The only boost has been from getting a coaching license.

This is Lee Young-pyo now.

Edited June 15, 2022 by karanhsingh

[karanhsingh]

Young player spotlight - Ryoo Su-Hyun

 

What a signing this guy has been! He's been a rock for us at the back playing as a WCB on the left side. And has made immense development thanks in no small part to the exposure to first team football. Some of his attributes like pace have gone up +3 in one season. Not only that,

He also got capped for the South Korean senior side!

And deservedly won Young Player of the Season!

There are some players I am hoping will join me at multiple clubs during this save, and he is likely the first one.

[Brooklyn Jensen]

Lee Young-Pyo! He was the Cancelo before Cancelo came into the picture! Congrats on the double! And what a signing Andre Anderson is! 

[karanhsingh]

24 minutes ago, Brooklyn Jensen said:

Lee Young-Pyo! He was the Cancelo before Cancelo came into the picture! Congrats on the double! And what a signing Andre Anderson is! 

Cheers mate! Yes absolutely. 

[karanhsingh]

@Cheez3y my entire midfield is gone 

[karanhsingh]

Not too many transfers this time. We had to bring in a new midfield. Ended up spending "big" on two Koreans in Kim Do-Hyeok and Paik Sang-Hoon, and swapping one Brazilian for a better one by replacing Gabriel Kazu with Ze Gabriel.

[karanhsingh]

The first half of the 2024 season has flown by (mainly due to me IR'ing almost every game )

No defeats. Lot of clean sheets. Can't really complain.

 

Top of the league, and we should win it from here.

And topped the Asian Champions League group too. My primary objective this season is to try to win this tournament. That I feel will finally give Lee the recognition and reputation boost he needs to land a half-decent job in Europe.

[KlaaZ]

On 15/06/2022 at 09:15, karanhsingh said:

So we made just the one signing in the summer transfer window, but it was a major one. We managed to get this guy on a free, when his contract with Lazio expired.

What a coup for a Korean club! And he seems tailor made for the formation too in the AMC role.

He's got a 1.8m release clause so not too sure how long we will be able to hold onto him...

Anderson's been very solid for me at Parma, picked him up on a free as well I think. Can fill a lot of attacking roles, performed very well as a CM(A), MZ and SS.

[karanhsingh]

19 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Anderson's been very solid for me at Parma, picked him up on a free as well I think. Can fill a lot of attacking roles, performed very well as a CM(A), MZ and SS.

Absolutely, he's probably the best player in the Korean league now. 

[Cheez3y]

On 16/06/2022 at 07:50, karanhsingh said:

@Cheez3y my entire midfield is gone 

I can imagine the joy.

I think you even need to pay the wages right?

[karanhsingh]

16 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

I can imagine the joy.

I think you even need to pay the wages right?

Yes indeed you are right. And by the time they are back I will not be around anymore 

[Brooklyn Jensen]

Absolutely smashing it mate! Keep up the good work! I think Lee Young-pyo has outgrown the K-League!

[Cheez3y]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Yes indeed you are right. And by the time they are back I will not be around anymore 

The double whammy.

But this makes Asia so interesting, so many regulations and unique things for each nation.

[karanhsingh]

44 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

The double whammy.

But this makes Asia so interesting, so many regulations and unique things for each nation.

Yes! Also I like the Korea is a fully licensed league for SI.

[Hootieleece]

Hello. I too am going the "Journeyman" route, but I am playing as myself.....starting unemployed today! I ended up at Guisely in England. Will post in the mini-updates thread.

Asia is definitely an under played area of the world as far a Career Updates are concerned. Keep up the good work

[Hootieleece]

On 16/06/2022 at 01:50, karanhsingh said:

@Cheez3y my entire midfield is gone 

I think that Tottenham's Son got out of it by the club shelling out some cash......

[karanhsingh]

5 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I think that Tottenham's Son got out of it by the club shelling out some cash......

He was exempted from it after he led South Korea to winning some tournament if i remember correctly. 

[karanhsingh]

So at the last update, we were mid-way through the second full season at Incheon. Let's see how things turned out for Lee and his merry band.

The domestic double has been secured once again, although we got a little lucky in the FA Cup Semi Final with a last second equalizer against Ulsan (definitely the best side in the league that's not Incheon), and then drawing a very mediocre Seongnam side in the finals.

Could have been a perfect season but for the two league defeats we suffered. And a whole bunch of draws as well. Perhaps not as dominant as we ideally could have been but we still win the league with a solid 12 point margin.

So 2 full seasons and all 4 domestic trophies secured 

[karanhsingh]

And now, for the Asian Champions League.

Apparently the knock-outs are all one leg in Asia. I have no idea how they decide who is to be the home team.

We played fellow Korean side Jeonbuk in the 2nd round.

It probably should have been a more convincing win, and finally it took a 25 yard screamer from our Brazilian volante to seal the win for us.

[karanhsingh]

We had Shanghai Port in the quarter finals, once again at home.

And once again a pretty complete performance, with the opposition not getting a single shot on target.

A brace from Jota Silva sends us into the semis.

[karanhsingh]

Another Korean side in the semis... this is not what we signed up for!

 

A very hard fought game away in Ulsan which goes all the way to penalties. 

And just like in the FA Cup semi-final, we emerge victorious after a long shoot-out. The dream was almost over. But this time, luck was on our side.

And so, we have our first continental final to look forward to:

It is against the Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ittihad.

[karanhsingh]

We are a bit lucky that the final is at our home ground. It's freezing and also snowing a bit, the Saudis are definitely not used to this.

The teams:

It's a hard fought first half. We also lose our best defender the Australian Susnjar to injury, he is replaced by young Korean CB on loan Kim Hae-Sung. Just as we are about to go into half-time...

The substitute pops up to head in from a corner!

This changes the entire dynamic. We are playing well in the 2nd half but the players are really tiring now (we had the FA cup final 3 days before this so couldn't rest anyone). The last 15 minutes were absolute torture as we went ultra defensive and were just trying to hold on. Ittihad hit the post and had a couple of gilt-edged chances. But somehow, we manage to hang on.

Champions of Asia!!!

The game stats - we were definitely the better team save for a late rally from the Saudis and so probably deserved it.

And so with that, we have ourselves a treble!

 

[karanhsingh]

The squad stats from a fantastic season! Mugosa & Anderson the stand-out players. The Brazilian definitely needs to go back to Europe soon, he has out-grown this league. Same can be said maybe about Ze Gabriel in midfield.

One important update from the summer was that we brought in two players (who will be profiled below) and we unfortunately had to sell our young Korean star Ryoo Su-Hyun because a European club met his release clause. However this is the biggest transfer in the history of Incheon and certainly a huge moment for the club as a young player moves to a proper European giant.

Let's hope that this is not it for Lee & Ryoo - their paths should cross again in the future.

I am proudest of the way that we have developed home-grown talent, both from the academy and youngsters brought in. Here are the key ones I intend to keep a close eye on.

Kim Shin-Woo suddenly got a lot of game time after Ryoo left the club and it really aided his development. I could see him being a very handy WCB on the left side of a back 3.

Hwang is a goal-keeper who has come through the academy and while not first choice yet, he got plenty of games this season. Another one to keep an eye on.

Kim Young-Ki is yet another academy graduate who broke into the first team this season and could have a bright future ahead of him.

Choi Jong-Jin was an inexpensive signing being groomed as LWB but I am not sure if he has enough going forward for the role. He has not developed as much as I would have liked.

Kim Hae-Sung, the match-winner in the Asian Champions League final, is actually currently on loan at the club. Another promising young Korean CB.

And finally, saving the best for the last, Kim Sung-Jin was a 135k signing in the summer from a second division side. While his performances have been very under-whelming so far, looking at his attribute mix I am convinced we have a special young player on our hands.

[karanhsingh]

And with that, Asia = done.

Lee Young-pyo has managed to climb his way up to 9th in the Asian Hall of Fame.

But this will probably be it in Asia. 2 seasons, 5 trophies won, a lot of young talent nurtured. The tactic has been fine-tuned and it's now time to take the adventure to Europe.

With a 3 star rep and continental C badge, not to mention a solid 68% win rate, this should ideally now be enough to get some offers in.

Ideal next destination would be Portugal or the Netherlands. Let's see what happens!

[karanhsingh]

There are 3 clubs that have made Lee an offer, and the list has been narrowed down to two.

Bordeaux - as enticing an opportunity as this is, it will likely be rejected because Lee does not want to manage in France as of now.

Groningen - definitely an interesting one. The Dutch league is on the radar and toppling Ajax would represent an immense challenge. Lee played for PSV back in the day so speaks the language as well. Groningen are currently mid-table in Eredivisie and have been so for a while.

Boavista - again a very interesting challenge, for me. The top 3 in Portugal are absolutely dominant and have been so for ages. Boavista is the 2nd club in Porto and while they have a very average squad they do have a 30k seater stadium. Also Lee could try to take some of his Portuguese speaking players & staff along with him.

I am leaning a bit towards Boavista only because I managed Groningen for 3 seasons in FM21 so this would be something new. Would love some thoughts on this massive decision!

[Cheez3y]

Groningen or Boavista

I would take Boavista too, because I mananed Groningen in FM21 too.

[karanhsingh]

Thanks buddy. I will take a decision tonight. 

[karanhsingh]

I also made a list of potential clubs i would like to manage in this save (won't end up being more that one in each country)

Italy - Torino or Roma

Spain - Betis or Valencia

Netherlands - Feyenoord or PSV

France - Marseille

England - Spurs 

Of course, the club has to be struggling at the time of taking over otherwise it's no fun. 

[Hootieleece]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

I also made a list of potential clubs i would like to manage in this save (won't end up being more that one in each country)

Italy - Torino or Roma

Spain - Betis or Valencia

Netherlands - Feyenoord or PSV

France - Marseille

England - Spurs 

Of course, the club has to be struggling at the time of taking over otherwise it's no fun. 

Like the list, but is there another team in each country that would be good as well? Like Napoli for Italy or a club away from major metropolis's in England....(Not Newcastle) 

Reason is that the list may or may not be struggling, but another similar team could come calling?

[karanhsingh]

15 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Like the list, but is there another team in each country that would be good as well? Like Napoli for Italy or a club away from major metropolis's in England....(Not Newcastle) 

Reason is that the list may or may not be struggling, but another similar team could come calling?

Yes maybe a Villa or something. But i honestly doubt I'll make it to England. 

Anyway have made my decision about the next move. Should have an update up tomorrow!

[KlaaZ]

Go for Boavista!

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Go for Boavista!

The black & white chequered kits may just clinch it...

[Brooklyn Jensen]

I’m for the Boavista move too! Those Portugal newgens are great as well!

[karanhsingh]

35 minutes ago, Brooklyn Jensen said:

I’m for the Boavista move too! Those Portugal newgens are great as well!

Absolutely, Portugal is a gold mine!

[mr_jones]

+1 for Boavista too, because the project looks nice. I would also go for Bordeaux, because i like to play in France, but i agree, that this step would be a bit too early.

[karanhsingh]

3 hours ago, mr_jones said:

+1 for Boavista too, because the project looks nice. I would also go for Bordeaux, because i like to play in France, but i agree, that this step would be a bit too early.

Boavista it is! Full update to be up soon. Thanks for your feedback. 

[SixPointer]

Catching up! Sublime stuff as always